Counterclockwise 35 degrees
by Kou1
Summary: Cloud is settling into his new life yet still cannot let go of things past. That is, until his past reintroduces itself into his life, throwing the delicate balance in his head and new life into turmoil. Zack/Cloud. FINISHED! Please review!
1. Chapter 1

Author's preambling:

It's been 6 years since I last wrote. Very rusty. Would like to get back on my feet and start writing again. Please let me know what you think. Rated M for future chapters. Will probably be Zack/Cloud though that may change.

Disclaimer:

Don't own the characters. Never did, never will. As much as I would like to.

Chapter One: Home

Two mud-caked shoes plodded heavily into the compartment, earning the grubby man attached to them scattered reproachful glances. The man ignored said glances, raising a dirt-stained hand to matt down his mane of greying hair. The train doors shut behind him and the train jerked to life, squealing its way along the tracks.

The man cleared his throat, then launched into what sounded like a long memorized tirade mumbled loudly through his thick beard, before beginning his slow walk down the carriage, sticking out his hand for any spare change the irritated passengers would toss to him.

Cloud exhaled almost audibly, burying his nose deeper into his book. This ride was taking too long. And this was already the third beggar shoving another hand into his face.

Everyone in the compartment heaved a sigh of relief as the train doors slid open again and the old man stumbled his way out, pulling a bottle of gin out of his pocket.

Cloud turned his gaze away from the page he was hardly digesting and to the view of Junon pulling away outside the window. Another day. Another mission. Another crimson stain on his sword.

_Use brings about wear and tear._

He allowed himself an unnoticeable smile, recollecting the words of his raven-haired mentor. If only Zack could see how much he had grown. He would have been proud. It had been... What? 5 years, 4 months, and 23 days? Who was counting anyway?

He let himself sink into a thick haze of memories, knowing full well he would regret reminiscing so much later on. The warm grin, the reassuring voice, the strong protective arms. They seemed to fade ever so slowly in his mind with each day.

The smile faded from his mind. There was so much he wanted to say, so much he wanted to ask. But he was gone now.

He blinked, switching his focus back on the vast expanse of utterly nothing in front of him. The delivery service had its perks. It put food on the table. Food which often felt like leaping back out into the world in glorious retching sounds whenever deliveries involved traveling excessively long distances.

"I'm living your share, Zack." he whispered to himself. "Just wish you were here to do it for yourself."

A loud gurgle erupted from his belly, and Cloud slapped a hand over his mouth, feeling his face turning several shades greener.

Yep. He hated trains.

"Don't."

A pale, firm hand pulled Zack back into his seat and back into the darkness at the other end of the carriage masked in shadow. Zack cast a lingering look at the blonde, half wishing he would look up, half wishing he was just part of the steel wall against his back. The crowd jostled in the tight space, sealing off the tiny crack through which he was watching the younger man.

"Not yet."

--

Cloud stepped gingerly into the bar, the warm and comforting scent of wood filling his starved senses. It was good to be back. His eyes swept across the room, looking for-

There she was.

Tifa leaned against the doorframe, drying off a glass that she set on the table. Her hazel eyes met his crystal blue ones, a smile spreading slowly across her face. He closed the distance between them slowly, allowing her hand to reach up and trace the sharp angles of his jawline before resting on his cheek. Admittedly, he had missed this. Her touch.

"You're late."

Her voice.

Cloud nodded a silent apology, his gaze lingering for several more long moments before turning to the stairs that wound their way to the upper levels. A shower and a nap sounded really good to him right now...

"Go take a shower and a nap before dinner," Tifa smiled, reading the non-expression on his face. "The train ride was probably hell on you."

She let out a soft sigh as Cloud disappeared up the stairs. She knew he needed time to open up again... But the seemingly endless waiting for him was wearing her resolve paper thin. He had had some progress, sometimes returning her touches, sometimes almost allowing a smile to ghost across his lips. But he mostly kept silent, blue eyes locked onto hers for long drawn moments.

"You aren't telepathic you know..." she mumbled to herself, setting down another dried glass. She was about to walk back into the back room when the doors to the bar swung open behind her.

"I'm sorry, we're closed for-"

A gasp stoppered her sentence.

"What are you doing here?"

--

He tossed his soiled clothes in a rumpled heap at the foot of the bed, toweling his hair dry while rummaging through his cupboard for a shirt. The hot shower had done wonders to relax his over-tensed muscles.

He flopped back into the bed with a satisfied groan. The past two weeks had been horrid, filled with a myriad of different monsters and sleepless nights. At least the job paid well. There were times, drenched in the slime of monsters, that he was beginning to think he should have asked for a higher price.

His eyes slid close, letting his mind go. And his mind always seemed to wander towards the same place.

_"Feet apart!" Zack laughed, exasperation tinging his voice. "You won't even be able to jab a stationary rock if you stand with your feet together like they were tied up."_

_He nudged his foot between Cloud's feet, kicking them apart and making the young private stumble slightly. The latter brushed his bangs out from his eyes, hands tightening around the handle of the weapon. They had been at this for hours now, and he was no closer to having any semblance of a warrior._

_Cloud frowned. "Permission to take a break Sir." His arms already felt like they were made of lead covered in bits of heavy metal with a large duck sitting on them. Zack let out a chuckle and slapped the boy solidly across the back in what he thought was a friendly pat._

_"Sure. And Cloud, stop calling me Sir."_

_Cloud attempted to rearrange his face from the furrowed frown but gave up as it collapsed on itself._

_"Yes Sir- Zack."_

_"Sir Zack?" the SOLDIER laughed. "I could live with that. SIR ZACK! PROTECTOR OF THE INNOCENT, DEFENDER OF GAIA!"_

_He twirled the buster sword several times in the air with a triumphant swoop, singing his victory theme song._

_Cloud smiled at his mentor. How was he was supposed to respect this man who pulled him out from his normal squad to do 'special top-secret SOLDIER training' when the raven haired man spent most of his time acting like a 10 year old? He didn't mind so much. At least his days alone on the bench in the mess hall were now replaced with days alone on the bench in the mess hall with Zack sitting opposite him, jabbering on about anything and everything._

_Zack plopped himself next to Cloud on the ground, pushing a bottle of water to the younger boy. The blonde offered him a small smile, taking the bottle and chugging down half its contents._

_"Zack's lips have touched this," he suddenly thought, a slight blush creeping onto his cheeks before choking suddenly and violently._

_Zack slapped the boy's back again, sending him flying a few feet ahead. He grinned at the boy picking himself off the ground, and said_

"Day dreaming again, Strife?"

Cloud snapped out of his reverie and to his feet, his sword already poised in his hand. His eyes widened in shock, falling on the intruder in his doorway.

"You..."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note:

If you're wondering why I'm updating so fast, I'm stuck in Paris alone with nothing to do for the next 3 months except work in my 9 to 5 job. \

Disclaimer:

Don't own them. Really. Stop looking at me like that. I don't.

Chapter two: Warning

"Day dreaming again, Strife?"

Cloud snapped out of his reverie and to his feet, his sword already poised in his hand. His eyes widened in shock, falling on the intruder in his doorway.

"You..."

A slight chuckle wafted from the man like smoke, filling the room with its cold bitterness. A thin finger trailed across the surface of the table in front of him as he moved deeper into the room, his aura of smug choking any living thing in a 2 meter radius. Cloud unconsciously ground his teeth, fingers tightening around his sword. What was this man doing here...

"I would have expected a slightly warmer welcome from your girlfriend and you," Hojo stated, unconcerned with the sword point and apprehensive eyes following him around the room. "Especially since I'm here bearing warnings that you might be interested in."

Cloud glared at the cackling man. Time had undoubtedly doled out its damage on the professor, turning his hair a wispy white and skin wizened and wrinkled. Cloud just wished he would stop cackling.

"What do you want," Cloud snarled, not letting up his guard. "You should be dead."

Hojo turned abruptly to look at the young man before him. "The reason for my living and breathing in front of you is of no concern to you. Nor would your simple mind be able to comprehend such complex reasonsings." He paused to push his spectacles further up his nose before turning back to look out the window.

"Some meddling fools from Wutai broke into my lab and made a mess of some of my specimens. Some even got loose."

"What has this got to do with me."

"I'm more than certain one of them would come here." The cold laugh from the professor sent slight chills down Cloud's spine. Gods, couldn't he just stop cackling?

"We are more than adequately prepared to protect ourselves." Cloud spat out.

Hojo cast him another look that could make a potato shrink and die. "Perhaps."

And with that, he was gone.

--

"TIFA!"

Cloud bounded down the stairs, frantically scanning the room for any sign of the brunette. He found her sweeping up shattered fragments of glass near a deep dent in the wall. She looked up at him with an unreadable expression before turning back to the arduous task of wrenching shards from the brick wall.

"Hojo was-" Cloud started.

"I know. I threw a glass at him but he vanished." There was a hint of disbelief in her voice, not really trusting the words that came out from her own mouth. She wrenched another shard out of the wall and flung it unceremoniously in the small heap stained with a tint of red.

He watched her for a few moments, trying to read her mind through the back of her head. He didn't have to worry. She was a strong woman. She had always been strong. She would be fine. She was fine. Nothing to-

"What did he want..." she asked quietly.

"I don't know."

"Why can't they just leave us be?!" Tifa leapt to her feet, spinning to look Cloud square in the eye, searching for an answer he did not have. Tears stung her eyes, and thoughts crowded her mind about how their latest attempt to live some semblance of a normal life was about to be shattered yet again. When was it all going to end?

Cloud stepped towards her, grasping her shoulders firmly. He gently removed another glass shard she had been clenching unconsciously in her hand. He said nothing as he held her bleeding palm in his. He didn't know the words.

_"Look what you've gone and done!"_

_Cloud peered up at Zack through rain soaked bangs then turning his frightened gaze back to his mid section. A bright red gash snaked across his abdomen, blood flowing freely from the open wound now stung by the polluted rain._

_Zack knelt by the boy, making clicking noises at the large wound before wiping the younger boy's face. He whispered some words of reassurance and cast Cloud another of his nonchalant grins. The Shinra private didn't know what the other boy was saying, but it felt like a hand reaching out to him as the world swam sickeningly around him. A warmth spread slowly across his stomach as Zack cast a healing spell on it, sealing the gash._

_"That's gonna leave a scar, eh?" Zack sighed. "I don't have any remedies on me though. You have a knack for getting yourself knicked by poisonous monsters."_

_Cloud groaned in response, feebly raising his right middle finger at the SOLDIER._

_"Defiant till the last! That's the spirit!" Zack laughed, hoisting his protege into his arms, pausing slightly to muse about how light the other boy was. The blonde boy shifted in his grasp as the world went black, burying his face in the SOLDIER's shoulder._

_"Well, let's go make things all right again, shall we?"_

Cloud snapped back to the present, shaking himself mentally of the last remnants of these memories. He needed to concentrate now on the girl in his arms. Not the man in his head. She had taken to resting her forehead against his his shoulder. He would have normally backed away from the contact, but stayed this time.

Maybe this wasn't so bad.

Tifa sighed, not wanting to back away. Not yet anyway. Perhaps this was the opening she was waiting for. The crack in his ice. Then again, she didn't want to think. Not now.

There was a loud bang at the door.

Tifa sighed, pushing herself away from Cloud. "What now..."

--

He stumbled heavily into the shadows of the alley, slumping against the wall. It was only after the sound of boots on concrete faded that he allowed himself to let out the breath he was holding. He clutched at his arm that had begun to bleed again and grunted in irritation.

"Bastards," he snapped under his breath.

The wound slowly began sealing itself for the third time, the skin stitching itself back with a sickening sizzle. He removed his hand, wiping the blood from his hand on his grime streaked pants. He could never get used to that feeling.

He paused for a while longer until the stench of the trash can he was crouched next to was beginning to sting his nose. Pushing against the slick wall behind him, he got to his feet again, continuing in the opposite direction of his pursuers. It took him too long to get away, and he wasn't about to go back.

His piercing eyes flicked across the wide expanse of building in front of him before finding their target and narrowing in concentration. He part ran and part fell his way towards the large sign down the street, before flinging himself groggily against the door.

"Damn guns... Why can't these guys just use swords..." he mumbled as his eyelids shut involuntarily, turning the lights off in his head.

The door opened behind him abruptly and a large sword hovered briefly over him before suddenly clattering to the ground. A soft shaking voice drifted out from the doorway.

"Zack?"


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note:

Another chapter. A tad draggy. Let me know what you think. Reviews would be nice. )

Disclaimer:

As before. Don't own them.

Chapter three: Return

Tifa walked briskly into the room, a large bucket of hot water in her arms. She set it down next to the bed, folding the cloth she had draped over her shoulder on the edge of the bucket, then turning to make her exit. She paused at the door, looking at Cloud who had taken up a silent vigil next to the unconscious Zack for the past hour. He had not said anything after carrying the raven haired man up the stairs and into his room. His eyes never left the ex-SOLDIER, staring at his closed eyes intently with an undecipherable concentration.

"Still not telepathic, Cloud," Tifa muttered to herself, starting back down to the bar.

She had long disappeared from the door frame when Cloud's hand reached for the cloth, soaking it in the hot water. A million thoughts sparked, clashed and vanished again in his mind as he gingerly wiped the sweat and grime away from Zack's face, half afraid that if he did anything more than brush the older man's skin, the ex-SOLDIER would fade away into nothingness.

Why? How? When?

The blonde pursed his lips together tightly to stop a barrage of questions from assaulting the unconscious man on his bed. He instead turned his attention to slowly removing the rest of Zack's soaked clothing. He began the task of peeling away the layers of tattered uniform sans his boxers, laying them next to his pile of clothing at the foot of the bed. Soaking the cloth again, he wiped the dirt away from the rest of Zack's body. With the layer of grey, black and green gone, there was a much clearer view of what 5 years had done to the raven haired man.

There were more scars streaking his skin now than Cloud had remembered. Perhaps he had remembered wrong. The younger man frowned, tracing one particularly nasty looking scar that raced diagonally from his right shoulder to his left hip. He didn't remember this one...

"Like what you see, Spike?"

Cloud's eye snapped up and his hand back to his lap as Zack cracked open his eyes wearily. Mako green eyes blinked hesitantly before flitting around the room he was in. Cloud was never one for unnecessary prettifications to his room and it remained characteristically bare and basic. A table. A bed. And a chair drawn up next to Zack with a wide eyed young man on it.

"Long time no see, eh?" Zack chuckled painfully, reaching out to ruffle the blonde's hair. "Still looking like a chocobo..."

Cloud blinked back emotions bombarding his mind, shutting off all the questions for the moment and desperately memorizing the feel of the calloused hand on his head. He had been yearning for this touch for the whole of 5 years. This warmth. This surge of emotions in his almost unfeeling heart.

"How have you been doing while I was gone?" Zack grinned at the unresponsive Cloud.

_Excruciating._ Cloud thought to himself.

"Fine."

Zack searched the younger man's eyes for a different answer to the monosyllabic one he had just received. It had been a long time since he could come this close to him and he took his time taking in how much his young protege had grown into this strong, tenacious man, whose silence and slightly dulled eyes were the only clues to the shattered soul in them.

He raised his hand off Cloud's head with a soft pat, hauling himself upright on the surprisingly springy bed, albeit slowly. He could have sworn he could hear his joints scrape against each other. Gods he felt old.

Zack stretched out his tired limbs as Cloud wordlessly got up to his closet and withdrew a pair of pants and shirt for him. He briefly mused that his clothes would be a tad small on the larger man before tossing them on the bed. He leaned against the closet, watching Zack struggle with his clothing, half expecting him to vanish if he did so much as blink. This wasn't real. It couldn't be real. He saw Zack die...

"I have no idea how you wear these everyday, Spike," Zack frowned at the confusing article of clothing in front of him. "Why are there so many buckles and zippers?"

A hint of a smile tweaked at the corners of the blonde's lips as he walked over and helped Zack with the shirt. He had no idea why it was so confusing either. A belt here, an extraneous piece of cloth there... As he helped the raven haired young man into the shirt, his gaze subconsciously lingered on the scars again, following their jagged path across his chest. He could almost still smell the tangy citrus that was Zack. Almost feel the comforting heat of his body. Almost feel the tanned skin under his fingers-

"Cloud, I've brought you- Oh, you're awake."

Cloud wrenched himself from 3 inches of Zack to look at Tifa who had stepped into the room, bearing a tray of something that smelled faintly of stew. She set the tray down on the table next to the bed, casting a concerned look at the ex-SOLDIER who had taken to grinning warmly at her.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fantastic!" Zack said. "Better than I've felt in years!"

Tifa could tell he wasn't joking when he said that. She gave him a smile and left the room again, telling the two men to let her know they needed anything else. Zack smiled after her while reaching over to pick up the bowl of stew. It had been days since he last ate, and if there was one thing he could not bear to be subjected to, it was the lack of food.

In 15 seconds, half the stew had been polished off and Zack handed the quiet boy the rest. Cloud pushed the tray back towards the all too eager Zack who began wolfing down the rest of the stew in extreme gusto. Cloud watched him intensely, eyes tracing a line from his lips, down his throat, across his chest, down the firm planes of his abdomen...

He blinked away the haze that was starting to fill his mind. This wasn't the time.

--

A thick fist slammed against the oak on the table, tipping over a cup of pens. The soldier in front of the desk immediately ducked down, desperately trying to scoop the pens back into place.

"STOP FIDDLING WITH THOSE THINGS AND START EXPLAINING YOURSELF, BOY."

The soldier snapped to attention, shaking silently in his thick combat boots.

"Th- the subject took down an entire squadron S-Sir," he stuttered, the pens jittering their way out of his palm. "We... We lost him. Sir."

"LOST. HIM." the large man in the suit annunciated. "EXPLAIN TO ME HOW YOU LOSE A FULL GROWN MAN. HE'S NOT EXACTLY A SET OF CAR KEYS."

"My apologies Sir. It won't happen again."

The suit looked up to retarget his glare at the tall slim shadow that had just slunk into the room.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU."

"Someone who can get you your man."

"WHEN."

"Tomorrow night."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Note:

Yeap. Churning em out like popcorn in a pot... I know you're reading it. But not reviewing it. REVIEW I SAY! Really.

Disclaimer:

Nope. Not mine.

Chapter four: Boom

Fingers were like fire, drawing long intricate designs into the young man's washboard stomach. He let out a long sigh, wisps of blonde catching between his slightly parted lips. Fingers pressed harder, deeper into his back. Warm, soft hands wrapped around him, pushing him further, faster to the edge. Dark hair tickled his cheek as he let a name leave him in a throaty groan.

"Zack..."

Cloud's eyes snapped open in a twisted heap of sheets and sweat, his hair plastered against his forehead. The floor felt cool against his heated skin. Why was he on the floor anyway...

"I can't eat any... more..."

Oh yeah. That's why.

He sat up on the floor, running a hand through his hair in an effort to rub out the dream from his mind. Zack was mumbling in his sleep, smacking his lips at an imaginary bowl of something that sounded scrumptious. The light falling in from the crack in the curtains outlined the carved figure of the raven haired man who had taken to nuzzling the thin pillow in his arms. Cloud stared at envy at the pillow, the corner of which the ex-SOLDIER had begun to nibble.

"Damn you," the blonde young man mumbled. "Get out of my head."

A figure in the shadows beyond the window pane had an imperceptible smile. This was going to be interesting...

--

A divine scent wafted up from the kitchen, that sent Zack scampering back to the stove over which Tifa was standing over, a piece of toast still hanging from his teeth. He stuck out his now-empty plate, complementing his wide grin with large wide eyes. Tifa gave him a mock look of annoyance before tossing more eggs onto his plate with a light laugh, sending the happy man bounding back into the dining room.

"You have THE greatest girlfriend EVER."

Cloud looked up from the bacon he was pushing about his half-filled plate to give him a scowl which the other man completely missed. Tifa pushed into the room, her tray laden with an assortment of breakfast goodness. Zack was all too happy to welcome her into the room, kicking out the chair next to Cloud.

"Throne of honor!" Zack declared, presenting the chair like a brand new car. "Next to your man!"

Tifa gave him a soft smile. _I wish..._ She settled down next to Cloud who reacted by bolting upright in his seat. She glanced at him from the corners of her eyes, trying to untangle the crazed turmoil behind his deceptively blank stare. She watched him watch Zack out the of corner of his eyes. And Zack... Was completely oblivious, incessantly shoveling spoonful after spoonful of eggs, ham, yoghurt into his mouth.

The room was filled with just the sound of Zack's noisy eating until-

"Hey, Zack... You never did tell us how you got here..."

Zack looked up briefly at Tifa. Something flashed behind his bright green eyes. Fear? Hate? Anger? Loss? Whatever it was, it was gone again 2 seconds later, replaced with the usual laugh.

"What? The 'fell-right-outta-the-sky' story doesn't work anymore?"

Clearly, the raven haired young man had no intention of talking about the past 5 years any time soon. Tifa picked it up quite quickly.

"So... What are you going to do today?"

Zack tapped a finger against his chin, looking up to the ceiling for answers. "I should lay low for a couple of days... Maybe I'll just hang out here and help you out."

--

"Can't I go now??" Zack whined, putting down another chair he had just wiped clean. Tifa held back a laugh at the man who had started to throw a hissy fit in the middle of the bar. It had only been 3 hours, and already Zack felt like he had been cooped up for days. He had even taken to bothering Cloud who was sorting through some paperwork every few minutes.

"Spikeeeee..." he griped, drumming his fingers against the table on which Cloud was trying to read. "Isn't there anything else to do?"

Cloud rolled his eyes, throwing a book at the taller man. "It was your idea to stay in... Why don't you read a book..."

Zack caught the book deftly in one hand. "Aw... That's the most words I've ever head come out of your mouth since I got back." He flashed the blonde a grin before hauling up a chair and nestling down with his new book. Cloud sighed, knowing the thick book would entertain him for a whole of 15 minutes before it would be back to the whining.

Tifa set down her cloth from across the room, watching the two men as Zack began to tire from reading and started kicking Cloud for the heck of it. Cloud occasionally kicked him back, resulting in a full blown kicking contest below the heavy table. It ended messily when Zack jabbed his knee against the table leg, eliciting howls of pain from the dark haired man, and a soft chuckle from the blonde. Cloud? Laughing? This... Was a side of Cloud she had never seen. Not often anyway. And definitely not recently.

_I wish you could open up to me too, Cloud._

Tifa tossed the rag onto the table, turning to leave the room. Something flashed across the window and caught her eye. She yelled out all too late.

"GET DOWN!"

The explosion shook the entire bar, ripping splinters from the tables, bursting the rows of glasses on the bar top, sending showers of shimmering shards into the air. The door had been reduced to mere scraps of wood that ricocheted off the walls, shooting in crazy angles into the walls, furniture, narrowly missing Tifa's head as she ducked behind the bar. The smell of alcohol flowing profusely on the floor instantaneously filled the room.

Zack had kicked over the table they were at and pulled Cloud behind it in one smooth movement. Thick shards of glass sunk into the table with heavy thuds. His long string of curses were drowned out by the deafening explosion even as he hunched over Cloud, protecting him instinctively with his body.

The explosion was followed by the horrid sound of temporary deafened silence. Cloud launched himself back to his feet, feeling immediately foolish that he had left his sword in his bedroom. He curled his hands into tight fists, ready to fend off whatever barged through the remnants of the door.

But nothing did.

After a few long moments, Cloud finally turned to look about the room to inspect the damage. Tifa emerged unscathed from the behind the table, wielding in her hand the broken end of a beer bottle. She leapt over the bar top to join Cloud, eyes trained warily on the door and blown out windows. They were too open here. They had to leave. They had to-

"Zack!"

Cloud bounded over to the ex-SOLDIER who was crouched in apparent agony on the ground. His hands clawed against his chest, trying to relieve the burning pain that was rippling through his ribcage, threatening to cook his heart alive. Veins began throbbing in his temples, popping from his arms as his heart pounded dangerously close to implosion. What was this pain?!

Zack gave a strangled scream before collapsing unconscious on the ground, small shards of glass cutting into his face.

--

"Very interesting."

The thin ghost of a man smirked to himself, making a mental note to himself.

"Required heartbeat increase in subject was not acquired." he said out loud to the smaller man next to him. The short, greenish looking man nodded, tapping away quietly into his PDA. It was strange that such a situation could not raise the man's heartbeat high enough. But there were other circumstances they could explore.

"The boss will have to pay me more if I get rid of all 3 of them."


	5. Chapter 5

,Author's Note:

Another chapter. Starting to wonder if I should even be writing so fast. Can't be healthy... Thanks to everyone reading my fic. It's been a very long while since I started writing again, and I'm still trying to find my groove. And it's awesome coming back to the writing world with a fantabulous 300 hits in 2 days... Thank you. )

Warning for vulgarities in this chapter. If you don't like it, you can cover your eyes. But I don't think you can read with your eyes closed.

Disclaimer:

Yeah. You know what I mean.

Chapter five: You

2 seconds.

That was all the time it took for Zack to suddenly haul himself out of unconsciousness, off the bed and onto his feet. After 2 hours of being in a near catatonic state. He looked about the empty room in trepidation, before allowing his tense body to relax slightly and seat himself back onto the edge of the bed.

It was that feeling again. That mortifying mixture of pain, agony, and hellish burning that seemed to well up from his heart, each pulse sending the fire arcing through his arteries until it nearly consumed him. It was times like these he wished his heart would stop beating once and for all. He was glad it ended when it did. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold back. His hand instinctively went to the long scar across his body that now looked raw.

"I need a shower."

--

Cloud hauled the last shredded chair out of the bar, tossing it in the pile of now-firewood sitting along the pavement. He bent down to pick up a small shard of twisted metal, fingering the sharp edges. The heat had smudged the fine print on the surface, making it impossible to read. He sighed, flinging the shard back into the pile of scraps in the corner, flopping onto what remained of a stool. It didn't make any sense to him. Why would anyone want to attack the bar? Why did Zack react the way he did? The table protected them sufficiently. And that scar...

Tifa had been completely silent the entire time, shuffling about the counter, rearranging what could be salvaged and sweeping away what could not. The sound of the explosion was still ringing in her head along with questions that echoed throughout the minds of the 3 occupants of the house. Not to mention the fact that Cloud had begun obsessing over Zack's crumpled form instead of her. He looked up from the spot he had been eying on the ground, as if hearing her thoughts. He cast a glance at her, one that read of pure concern. He held her gaze for several full moments before his attention was drawn by another shard on the floor.

_"Oh shut up, Lockhart," _she snapped at herself. _"He's just worried. Zack was his first and only friend before all this."_

She looked up at Cloud as he rose from the seat, mumbling something about taking a shower. She let out a tired sigh, leaning heavily against the counter and throwing the rag in her hand across the room. She had waited so long to get so close and now she could feel him slipping through her fingers grain by agonizing grain. She was losing him. But how do you lose something that was never yours?

Tifa gave another loud sigh.

"Just shut up."

--

"Fuck. Me."

Cloud's eyes jerked upwards, stopping short of walking into the already occupied bathroom. Zack had taken to a string of obscenities since he got into the shower, enjoying the hot water way too much for anyone's comfort. It had been way too long since his last decent shower. The entire bathroom was already filled with steam and Cloud felt like he had to wade in it just to breathe. He slung the towel over his shoulder and turned to leave when a voice resounded in the thick haze.

"Spike? Gods, how long have I been in here?"

Zack shut off the water, stepping out of the shower moment later in a pair of track pants, toweling off his copious amount of hair with his towel. He walked up behind the blonde, close enough for Cloud to feel the water-heated skin through the back of his shirt, close enough for the tangy scent to surround him like mist, close enough to lean forward and whisper in the blonde's right ear.

"All yours, Spike."

Cloud held his breath, suppressing the shudder than threatened to race down his spine as Zack squeezed past him, out into the hallway and into their room, humming as he went along. The younger man's gaze lingered at the doorway Zack had disappeared into for a moment before heading back into the bathroom.

"Now I really need a shower..."

When Cloud reentered his room, he found Zack looking pensively out the window at nothing in particular, smiling at nothing at particular.

"A lot's changed, you know," Zack smiled without turning around.

Cloud set his towel down over the chair, busying himself with adjusting the piece of cloth to resist the urge to stare at the ex-SOLDIER. "You've been gone a long time, Zack..."

The older man sighed, rubbing his forehead gently.

"Say... I heard you have a bike..."

--

The wind nipped at his face, combing through his hair, filling his lungs, then leaving him all at once. Freedom. He could actually taste it this time, and not some faint suggestion at the tip of his tongue, at the end of a leash his captors had enforced upon him. He was never one to be cooped up and tied down. That's why there was no way they could have kept him for long.

Cloud sat next to Zack at the edge of the cliff overseeing a vast plain of nothingness. This was the edge of... Well, the Edge. A little reprieve from the noise and stink of modernization. A little patch of earth in a steel and concrete jungle. He looked at the tanned man next to him, watching him as he closed his eyes in ecstasy, allowing the wind to sweep through him with wild abandon. He finally settled back down, leaning back on one arm, the other draped lazily across his knee.

"You sure your girlfriend will be alright alone back at the bar?"

Cloud sighed at Zack calling Tifa his girlfriend again. "Yeah. She's a strong woman." Cloud smiled inwardly at the thought of his childhood friend. She had been through hell and back with him, every single time proving that she belonged right where she was - fighting right beside him.

Zack laughed at the blonde's irritation, punching him lightly in the shoulder. "She's right there for you, Spike. What are you waiting for?"

"You..."

The word escaped Cloud before he realized it, barely an imperceptible whisper. He whipped his head to look at the taller man, for some sign of rejoice, rejection, or even repulsion. But the raven haired man didn't seem to have noticed anything and had gone back to grinning wildly in the wind. Cloud heaved a sigh of relief. He wasn't prepared to let Zack know who had been the subject of his dreams and nightmares for the past 5 years, whose name was on his lips so many of those nights he woke up in a sea of sheets tangled around his legs.

Not yet.

Zack let the cool wind do its job, calming down his already racing heart, the soft word uttered mere moments ago echoing in his mind over and over again.

_"Not now, Cloud... I can't do this now..."_

He cracked his eyes open again, memorizing the nothingness in front of him, trying to inscribe it in his head to balance out the clutter of his mind. Green eyes turned to blue ones, searching for the briefest of moments, trying to tell him what he wanted so much to say, before his lips caught up.

"Shall we head back? Your girlfriend must be worried."


	6. Chapter 6

Author's Note:

Thank you for the reviews! All... 9 of them. (at the time I'm writing this anyway). I have plenty of time on my hands, in between working, walking to and from the office, cooking my meals, washing the dishes, fiddling with dust bunnies...

Warnings: The M rating is there for a reason.

Disclaimer:

I like ice cream...

Chapter six: Touch

His eyes were fixed to a tiny hairline crack in the paint that stretched a full 3 centimeters on the ceiling. It was a small little thing on the vast expanse of the ceiling. He would have to paint it again. It snaked a twisted crevasse, ducking horizontally, vertically, then horizontally again. It looked almost vicious, slicing mercilessly into the paint...

Oh who was he kidding. It was just a crack.

But it was the only thing keeping him mind from more distracting matters. His head shifted on the pillow to the dark haired man on the bed a foot away from him. Zack had insisted that Cloud sleep on the bed as well and that extensive sleeping on the ground was not something anyone should get used to. The younger man had only agreed after a good 15 minutes of whining. Just one night.

One sleepless night.

He turned to face the ceiling again, shutting his eyes and forcing his mind blank, handing himself over to sleep that refused to take him, praying that tonight he wouldn't dream of the raven haired man.

Zack listened quietly as Cloud's breathing gradually eased into a steady rhythm and the tension melted from his body. He opened his eyes, letting a soft sigh dissolve into the cooled night air. He had spent most of the day putting that grin on his face, pretending like nothing had happened. He was getting tired of smiling.

The ex-SOLDIER turned slowly, careful not to wake the sleeping blonde. He lay on his side, head propped up by an arm. His protege had really matured since he last saw him outside Midgar. He was confident, stronger, and definitely more attractive. Growing up was doing Cloud good. Tifa was a lucky girl. Cloud just didn't know that yet.

_"What are you waiting for?"_

_"You."_

Zack ran his free hand slowly over his face. "Cloud... Why are you doing this to yourself..." he berated the younger man in his mind. "She is so much more than I can ever be to you. Why can't you see that?"

He let out another sigh, watching Cloud sleep. He was peaceful in his sleep. Most of the time anyway. Zack leaned in just a bit closer to take in the minute details of the blonde haired man next to him. The moonlight flitted through the light color of his bangs, falling on his face, moulding the curves of his cheeks, tracing the line of his jaw, caressing the flesh of his lips...

Cloud's eyes opened groggily. A figure was hovering above him hesitantly, observing his face with intense scrutiny. He blinked several times before the blurred image cleared into a sharper image of Zack whose eyes widened at the sudden realization he had in the midst of his musings unconsciously leaned over Cloud, now inches from his face.

Zack instinctively pulled away only to feel a hand pull at his collar, stopping him from moving any further back. Cloud moved his other hand to touch the taller man's cheek, running his fingers through his hair, to the back of his head-

In a split second, he pulled him down, pressing his lips against Zack's, softly but with a passionate fervor that shot right down the other man's spine, igniting the furthest corners of his mind, taking his breath away. Cloud's lips felt so warm, so soft, so...

Right...

_Wait. That's not right._

Cloud pulled away after several long moments, looking intently in the other man's eyes as if sending mental messages Zack was definitely not receiving. He closed his eyes and fell back into the pillows, breathing slowing again.

_"That was a good dream..." _he thought, darkness falling back around him.

Zack was still frozen over the blonde as the latter fell back to sleep with a contented smile, the ex-SOLDIER's name falling quietly from his lips before being taken over by light snoring. What the hell just happened? Was Cloud... Dreaming?

He finally moved, shifting back to his side of the bed. He raised a hand to touch his lips that felt strangely cold and vacant now. Now he _really_ couldn't go back to sleep.

A silent gasp came from the doorway, unheard by the two men inside. The figure turned swiftly and left in a whirl of long brown hair.

--

"YOU'RE LATE."

The man in the shadows nodded his apology. He was prepared for the verbal barrage from the booming voice behind the desk. He wasn't going to be the one to anger a large Wutai man. Especially not this large Wutai man.

"My apologies," the shadow began. "But there have been developments I'm certain you would want to hear about. I have located your... Subject. He is in the care of two other characters you might be interested in."

He tossed a file of photographs on the table. The chief reached out a fat arm, sweeping the assortment of photographs towards him. The scowl on his face quickly melted into a grotesque smirk.

"Let's see what our experiment can do..."

--

"BREAKFAST!" Zack yelled in exuberance, leaping into the chair, pounding the utensils in his hands on the table in earnest. "TIFA! WHAT'S FOR BREAKFAST?"

Instead of the lithe brunette, it was Cloud who emerged from the kitchen bearing a plate of pancakes, a dark blue apron wrapped around his waist. He grumpily set the plate on the table in front of an overly enthusiastic Zack.

"Tifa's not in," he stated, spearing some pancakes onto his plate. "I made pancakes."

Zack didn't need any more encouragement and started helping himself to 4 fluffy pancakes at a go. He glanced up briefly at Cloud who was chewing slowly on his small mouthful of breakfast.

"You look pretty in that apron."

Cloud choked and spewed bits of masticated pancake across the table. His cheeks flushed a slight red as he shot Zack a reproachful glare which the older man happily ignored.

"Where did you girlfriend go anyway?"

Cloud rolled his eyes and changed his focus to cutting his pancake into perfect squares soaked in the exact same amount of syrup. "She said she had to meet a friend. She'll be back in the evening. Don't worry. You won't starve."

Zack laughed, mostly at the bits of pancake left at the edge of the irritated blonde's lips. He moved slightly closer, reaching out and wiping a spot off the younger man's chin with his thumb.

"Well, in that case, we have the entire day alone here, don't we?"

--

Tifa entered the dark alley, pulling the hood closer around her face. The cold of the walls were seeping into her skin, making her begin to regret coming here in the first place. But the pain in her blood and the frozen image of Cloud's lips on Zack's in her mind shut out the last drops of doubt. She had to do this.

She looked around the narrow area again. The alley was empty. It was already 9.15. Maybe she had the wrong address. She pivoted on her heel, starting back out of the gloom when a hand landed on her shoulder and a voice spoke in deep baritone into her ear.

"You've got the right place."

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, gripping the edges of the cloak tighter and turning in order to face the person behind her.

"Don't turn around. You don't have to do anything."

"How much will this cost me?" she asked hesitantly.

"What is the target's name."

"Zack... Zackary Fair."

"Then this will be on the house."

TBC

A/N: review!


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Note:

Yay! More reviews! Thanks for all the comments. I seem to be updating this on a daily basis... That can't be healthy... BUT I'll keep churning out them chapters till I'm done. I'm expecting another 3 to 4 more, though my chapters aren't very long to begin with.

Disclaimer:

I'm hungry... And I'm too darn lazy to cook.

Chapter seven: All Yours

Tseng straightened his tie as he walked into the excessively bright office. He didn't have a very good feeling about what Heidegger wanted to speak to him about, since he _had_ pulled the Turk out from a mission just to speak to him personally.

Heidegger himself was rifling through a large stack of papers, a perplexed frown scurrying across his brow like an agitated spider.

"We have a problem here, Tseng," he began, not taking his eyes away from the paperwork. "I never approved the deployment of Shinra equipment in Edge City."

"No Sir."

Heidegger looked up abruptly, bringing his fist down on the table. "Then tell me why one of our bombs just went off in Edge City, nearly destroying a building with three people in it!"

"I assure you, it was none of our operatives." Tseng said in a cold tone, averting his eyes to the side in contemplation. He had, of course, heard about the explosion in the 7th Heaven bar and had already instructed the Turks to investigate the dire situation.

The large man behind the table barked something unintelligible about Tseng sorting out the mess before throwing himself back on the chair, covered by another mountain of paperwork.

Tseng nodded and walked out of the office, snapping open his mobile phone.

"Rude. Get Reno. I want the two of you to bring all the files from Hojo's lab to my office in 10 minutes."

--

Tifa closed the door quietly behind her, throwing her cloak over the nearest chair-

Chair?

Her eyes scanned across the bar. Everything was back as it was before. No splintered counters. No broken bottles. A fresh coat of paint on the walls. Brand new tables and chairs. She could practically still smell the store they had been purchased from earlier that day. Across the bar were too exhausted young men sprawled across tables and chairs, still grimy and sweaty from the day's hard laboring.

Tifa let a small smile slip onto her face, soundlessly hoisting her bag further up her shoulder and making her way towards the stairs.

Zack stirred, opening his eyes to look at the brunette walking on her tip-toes across the room. He chuckled softly, gaining her attention before hoisting himself to his feet.

"Don't worry. He's exhausted. He'll sleep through a gunfight if he had to."

She froze the smile on her face, nodding at the marked man before her, then turning back to the stairs.

"Tifa," Zack started. "Can we talk?"

She eyed him suspiciously then nodded briefly, turning into the kitchen instead. Zack followed her into the cramped area, noting that there was barely enough space for two people to walk comfortably in the room. She leaned against a cupboard, a long row of sharpened knives hanging from the shelf behind her. She raised the hazel eyes to look into his mako green ones. There was a bright glint as there always was. Then something else... Sadness perhaps.

_"What's he got to be sad about?"_ Tifa fumed internally. _"He's taken everything from me."_

Zack rubbed the back of his head, not really knowing where to begin. "Tifa... Firstly, thank you for keeping me here. I know the last time we met... We didn't exactly part on good terms."

Tifa blinked back memories of that horrible day back in Nibelheim. Where she couldn't save anyone. She couldn't save her father... No. She wasn't that weak, lost girl anymore.

"Well," Zack continued. "I just want you and Cloud to be happy, you know?"

"Excuse me?" Tifa looked up in slight surprise.

"Well, I know Cloud isn't the most open of people. And I'm really glad he has people like you to count on." the raven haired man said as he fiddled with random things around the kitchen space. "He loves you, Tifa. He just doesn't know it yet."

Tifa turned away from the ex-SOLDIER, blinking back hot tears welling up in her eyes. _"What is he talking about. I saw them both-"_

A large warm hand rested lightly on her shoulder. "He's all yours, babe."

Tifa continued glaring at the floor long after Zack had left. What was his intention in that talk? Was he trying to make peace? Was that kiss just an accident? It sure didn't look like an accident.

"You can't worm your way out of this, Fair. I'm not going to be some gullible girl you can hurt again."

--

Sleep just didn't come to Zack that night. He sat upright and awake on the hard wooden chair in the bar, throwing his feet up on the table and watching the sun begin to creep up the horizon, throwing brilliant streaks of gold and amber into the room still cold from the night.

Since his talk with Tifa earlier that evening, he felt exceptionally lost. Mostly because he could not decipher the cold aura she had when he was anywhere in the vicinity. The other reason was lying in a bed a floor up -a bed he would much rather be in than in this cold lifeless seat, with another person's warmth rather than his own cold cynicism.

"What am I thinking..." Zack groaned inwardly. "Cloud is my friend. He was just dreaming about Tifa or some Edge City babe."

He spent another 15 minutes convincing himself that was exactly what happened. But what if that's not what happened? What if the name he often heard Cloud mumble was his?

_"Zack!"_

_The 1st Class SOLDIER turned around to smile at the blonde haired boy running down the corridor, a large sword slung across his back. The sword strapped on his small frame made it a tad difficult for him to run, the handle rapping solidly against the back of his head every few steps._

_Zack laughed heartily at the young Shinra private, ruffling his hair as he drew nearer._

_"Still not enough practice for you? This is the 4th time this week, and it's only Tuesday!"_

_Cloud frowned slightly, a bright red washing over his face. His hand went to the back of his neck, struggling slightly before reappearing with a thin silver chain. "I heard you were going to Nibelheim tomorrow. In case I drop out before you came back..."_

_He pushed the silver into Zack's hand. The older boy pulled out his gift, admiring it in the bright light of the hallway. "Your tags? I know they're lovely but I've got a set too you know-"_

_"Not just my tags!" Cloud exclaimed, pulling Zack's hand down as a few other Shinra personnel walked past them, casting curious glances their way. Cloud sighed, flipping the tags over to reveal two concentric rings apparently soldered onto the back of the military issue tags._

_"My mother gave them to me before I left. It was the only way I could keep them on me without the sergeant giving me a hard time." _

_Zack grinned. "It's not like you're not going to see me again, you know. It's just going to be a couple of days..."_

_"It's always protected me. I'm just lending it to you. Just in case."_

_"... And Sephiroth said to bring you along too."_

"Spacing out?"

Zack snapped out of his reverie to see Cloud hovering over him, already dressed and ready to leave. Tifa stood behind him, also prepared, slipping her hands into her fighting gloves.

"Expecting trouble?" Zack laughed, rising from the chair.

Cloud narrowed his eyes as he walked out the door.

"We're looking for it."

--

The streets of Edge City were always packed to breaking point. Today was no exception to that rule. It felt like every merchant from the planet had congregated on the streets, and there were more people selling than there were people buying. Having spent much of the day wading through the throngs of people milling in the streets, the three hauled themselves into the nearest quiet alley, gasping for air.

"UGH!" Zack spat. "I never want to go in there again."

Cloud leaned against the wall, chest heaving with the exertion of pulling himself through what felt like a sea of mud. "6 sources in one day. And still no answers."

Tifa sat down wearily on an overturned crate, lightly massaging her calves. " Maybe the people who attacked us just chose us as a random target. There's no way you can plan an attack here without someone know-"

Her sentence was cut short by the sound of gunfire ricocheting further down the dank corridor. The three of them dove for cover, preparing for whatever was going to come at them.

Their assailants came from above.

Within seconds, they were surrounded by 15 men, faces swathed in cloth, brandishing a large array of guns. Zack threw the first punch, sending the unsuspecting attacker flying into a wall and crumpling into a motionless heap on the floor. He aimed several fatal kicks at another as Cloud ripped out his buster sword, flinging several bloodied bodies seven feet away. Tifa's hands curled into solid fists that she pummeled into the men nearest to her, breaking bones and snapping cartilage as she went along.

It was all over in minutes.

They didn't stand a chance.

Cloud leaned over the beaten and broken man nearest to his feet, snatching the weapon from his grasp. The text on the side of it were marred by smears of blood, but it was still legible...

"What are Wutai grunts doing with Shinra weapons..."

"That's what I want to find out..." Zack answered in a low voice laced with hate and anger.

They were going to Wutai.

TBC!!

REVIEW!!


	8. Chapter 8

Author's Note:

720 hits in 4 days?? Awww... you guys shouldn't have... The last chapter was a bit long (since I wrote it after dinner). This one will be a tad shorter (since all I have to power me is my after dinner kit kat bar and small bottle of Yakult) Please review!!

Disclaimer:

I like Yakult.

Chapter eight: At Dawn

The boss never liked this man. Not since the moment he stepped unannounced into his office. Not even now when he was offering his enemies as well as his experiment on a silver platter. He rubbed a large thumb over his grisly beard, trying to stare down the slim man in the suit who was a little too polite for his taste.

"And all I have to do is send all my men down to capture them."

"That is correct, Sir." The man in the suit replied calmly, motioning to the smaller and slightly greenish looking man next to him. His assistant plodded over to the table, gently sliding a small map towards the Wutai boss.

"They will be in this location at dawn tomorrow. I would suggest your men start moving right away. The weapons you requested are already in the loading bay."

The Wutai boss grunted in response, grabbing the map of the desert. He didn't trust this man. But he was not proud enough to refuse an offer like this. He pressed the red button on his telephone, sternly speaking into the man who came over the telecom.

"Soldier. Get the troops ready. We leave at once."

--

A hundred neatly polished boots snapped to attention as Tseng entered the briefing hall. He looked at his amassed group of 50 Turks, silently praying he would not need to write another letter to yet another unfortunate family tonight. He had written too many of those recently.

Still. A job was a job.

He placed his hands behind his back, walking slowly down the line, inspecting his task force. "As you all have been briefed earlier, the Investigation Sector of the General Affairs Department has experienced a security breach. One of our previous members has defected from the company and has been providing weapons and armaments to the Wutai."

Several of the Turks fidgeted uncomfortably in line at the thought of one of their own going against them. They were young. They would learn. He paused to pick up one of the guns on the steel equipment table in front of him. The cold metal seemed to welcome him despite the pain and agony that would burst from its nozzle. He hated shooting people he knew. It was like having a conversation with a cow before you had steak.

"Along with your standard equipment and weapons, you will all be issued one SAR-21 RIS assault rifle. Do not, and I repeat Do. Not. Use standard ammunition for this weapon. You are to use only this."

He raised a sleek gold shell in the air. At first glance, it looked much like a standard bullet. Upon closer inspection, the head of the projectile was a multitude of furled gold leaves, tightly knit into a point. The side of the shell was slightly translucent, giving away the bright blue liquid within it.

"This is an antiarrhythmic shot - a mixture of Procainamide and Metoprolol. You can expect an ex-SOLDIER to be there. Shoot Fair with this and this only. Understood?"

"Yes Sir!" chorused the line of Turks.

"Get loaded up and into the chopper. We should arrive at the interception point at dawn."

The group fell out of formation, rushing to get their equipment and loading their rifles with the shimmering blue cartridges. Reno pushed his way past the other Turks who were in various states of readiness and already beginning to file into the large helicopters. He caught up with Tseng who was loading his own rifle with the new ammunition, a look of cold intensity cast over his face.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Do not question me, Reno." Tseng deadpanned, trying out the weapon, trying to get a feel of it. "The mixture should slow his heart rate down fast enough to counter the effects of the morph."

"I was talking about the mission."

Tseng sighed. Setting the weapon back down on the table. "If our information is correct, we need to nip this in the bud. There definitely will be blood tonight."

And it wasn't the Wutai army he was worried about.

--

Fenrir's engine roared and shot forward just a little faster, prompting Tifa to tighten her hold on Cloud's waist. The cloud of dust that trailed behind him carved a path through the desert. Another bike burst out from the dust, easily catching up with Cloud. Zack grinned at the blonde through his thick goggles, loving the feel of the machine beneath him. He yelled something crude over the sound of the fierce engines before adding another kick of power to his jet black bike, bursting several meters ahead of Fenrir.

Cloud laughed, edging Fenrir forward again with ease. Tifa leaned closer to Cloud's back, rest her ear against him, listening to his laugh resonate through his body. She relished it, rare as it was. Before Zack returned, he had not laughed in 5 years.

_Would you laugh for me when he's gone?_

The bike screeched to a halt, jolting her from her thoughts. Zack pulled the goggles down to rest around his neck, grinning at the pair on Fenrir.

"It's getting dark. We should set up camp."

An hour later, they were already settled in and full from an entire bag of sandwiches they had grabbed before leaving Edge City. Cloud had agreed to taking the first watch, sitting himself down on a rock, trying to make himself as comfortable as one could. Comments from Zack about him looking like a chocobo incubating an egg slowly faded into contented snores.

The night was comforting, welcoming. He let his thoughts consume him for the briefest of moments. Zack had been behaving strangely the past couple of days, constantly prodding him to talk to Tifa, then lapsing into moments when he would just zone out, rubbing his lips subconsciously. It made him wonder what exactly drew him to this dark haired, day dreaming bag of grins. He had always looked up to Zack, the way he fought, the way he held himself, the way he talked, the way he walked, the way his eyes sparkled when he looked at you, the way his lips moved, the way he smelled, the way he tasted...

Cloud shook the thought out of his head. How in the world would he know how Zack tasted? Yet he could almost taste the warm tang of the ex-SOLDIER's lips, the heat of his breath...

"Snap out of it Strife," he said aloud, rubbing his eyes of the sleep in them. Staring into space for so long had attracted bits of sand to adhere themselves painfully on his eyes.

"Talking to yourself again?"

Zack sat himself on the ground next to Cloud, yawning slightly and stretching like a cat in the sun on a rug. He shook himself out, his hair popping back into its regular spikiness. He gave the blonde haired boy a pat on the back and a broad grin.

"My turn! Go get some shut eye. We have to get up in a couple of hours."

Cloud blinked. It was 3 hours already? He turned to Zack who had started to make himself comfortable in a curious looking squat, momentarily wondering how anyone could be comfortable squatting for 3 hours..

"What happened to you? All those years, I mean..." Could asked hesitantly. Then added quietly. "Why didn't you come back sooner?"

The smile faded slightly from Zack's face. He didn't want to, under any circumstance, relive those 5 years of utter agony, being subjected to torture every day, not to mention miles away from a decent shower. He nestled back to the ground, looking into the distant desert horizon, but only seeing the tiny cell he was kept in for what seemed like eternity.

_A loud series of clangs jolted Zack awake from his uncomfortable slumber on the cold, wet stone floor. His eyes felt like they were on fire as bright light poured into the room. He shut his eyelids tighter. Not another day of this crap..._

_"Five more minutes..." Zack grumbled into the floor._

_The guard outside his cell laughed, dragging the baton against the bars again. He heard the thick metal of the door slide open and several thick boots surround him. Another snide comment formed on his lips but was quickly silenced by the black cloth placed over his head. He felt himself hoisted and strapped down onto that steel table again. He could still smell the metallic stench of his blood from the day before, now dried on the table the never bothered to clean._

_They only took off the blindfold when they had wheeled him into an even brighter room, one reeking of the sickening smell of sterilization. The surgeon walked over from the cupboards at the other end of the room, flipping through his chart. Zack struggled briefly in his confines, as he did everyday, knowing they wouldn't give especially not with his diminished strength. Still, it seemed only right he tried to fight what they were doing to him._

_He didn't even feel afraid of the surgeries anymore._

_"I thought you would have given up struggling by now, Fair." The man laughed coldly, setting down the chart in the corner of the room. He looked over Zack's bare chest, admiring his handiwork - a newly stitched up incision that ran from the man's shoulder to hip. It wasn't pretty, but he wasn't trying to make something pretty._

_"That Hojo never was brave enough to take the next step," he continued, scribbling notes on a post-it note. "He could never achieve what I have with you."_

_Zack snorted and rolled his eyes, earning him a solid whack in the skull by the soldier who stood guard beside him. He snapped at the man in the helmet about only cowards would hit an unarmed and constrained man, and got another rap on the head. That one hurt._

_The doctor smiled broadly at Zack, reminding him strongly of a rusty chainsaw. He clapped his hands together with unmasked excitement. "Well, today is a big day for us!"_

_"Oh goody... Ring em' wedding bells..."_

_"We're going to let you out on a field test today." the man continued, ignoring Zack's comments. "You will be going to the eastern continent. See what you can do there."_

_"See what I can... What?" Zack spluttered angrily. This was the first time they were letting him see sunlight in eternity and they were still not done with him? It was times like these he wished he was dead. But the cold on his back and the swift knock to the back of his head told him he was still very much in this world that started to go black._

_His eyes opened again. He was in a train now. Surrounded by a good 30 armed men. Trust Wutai to act like cowards. He glanced about the crowded train, wondering if anyone noticed the excessive number of firearms in the carriage. That was when he saw him._

_It had been too long since he last saw him, or at least close enough to talk to him. He looked so much older now, so much stronger, in so much more torment. There was sadness in the eyes that gazed out of the train. His mako enhanced senses picked up the blonde's near inaudible wwhisper to himself._

_"I'm living your share, Zack. Just wish you were here to do it for yourself."_

_"Cloud..." Zack whispered, moving to get up._

_A soldier roughly pulled him back into the seat, motioning at the men around them who had guns at the ready. If he tried anything, there would be plenty of dead civilians on this train._

_"Not yet." he said gruffly. "You'll have your chance to shine when we get there."_

_Zack never did get there._

_The doors cranked open and the announcer stated in a muffled tone that they were in Edge City. Zack sprung across the carriage, tearing out the train, through the doors and into the station. Freedom! He could feel it on his skin! He could feel it filling his lungs with each pained breath! The scent of freedom was marred by the stench of the horde of angry men now running after him. He could take them. Maybe 5 years ago he could. He felt sluggish, his strength wasn't what it used to be anymore. He turned a corner out of the train station and found himself..._

_"Completely surrounded, mutt," the soldier annunciated. "Now, what would the professor say if he knew his prized experiment was running loose?" The men started to close in._

_Zack's eyes darted from one angry glare to the next, feeling panic start to claw at his throat. He didn't want to go back. He couldn't go back. He wouldn't go back._

_His heart pounded painfully in his chest as the world suddenly went black._

Cloud watched Zack's eyes glaze over again, his hand unconsciously trailing across the long scar on his torso. Cloud was silent for a moment, absorbing the information just thrown at him. "How... Did you lose so many guards?"

Zack sighed. "I'm not sure. I blacked out and when I came to, I was in some alley lying against some garbage can."

The younger man didn't quite know how to respond, aside from trying to tear his eyes away from the scar on the other man's chest. He wished he knew how to erase the past few years from Zack's mind. He wished he could heal those scars on him. He wished a great many things. But wishing was just that. Wishing.

Zack tried a moderately successful laugh to break the tension. "Well, that's a story for the grandkids huh? You should be going to sleep, Spike. Tomorrow will be a long day."

Cloud nodded, rising to head over to where his rucksack was strewn on the dusty ground as makeshift pillow next to Tifa, one thought running rampant through his mind.

_"Grandkids?"_

The raven haired man watched his blonde friend roll into a reasonably comfortable position out of the corner of his eyes, only turning back to the vast emptiness of the desert and his thoughts once the younger man had begun to sleep.

Dawn was nearly upon them.

TBC

Oh well. So much for a short chapter.

Please please please review... :( PLEASE!!


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note:

I'm almost done writing the story. 5 days and 952 hits later. I thank all those who have reviewed! Thank you so much! I thoroughly encourage everyone to review... Keeps me going during these long nights alone typing in front of my computer. :D

Disclaimer:

Kitkat is yummy...

Chapter Nine: Blood Red

The first thing Cloud noticed when he woke was that it was noisy. Really noisy.

The second thing he noticed was that he was five feet in the air.

His eyes snapped open to see Zack carrying Tifa and him on either of his shoulders, sprinting towards a large outcrop in the nearby hill. He unceremoniously dumped them both in a crevice behind a large boulder, sufficiently hiding them from the outside. Cloud struggled to his feet, grabbing Zack's arm as he tried to turn back.

"Zack!" Cloud shouted, pulling the ex-SOLDIER back towards him. "What's going-"

"Stay. Away. From. Me." Zack's voice was impossibly low and ragged. He looked briefly at Cloud who suddenly took a horrified step backwards. Zack's eyes were now bright glowing green orbs, shining brightly in the cast shadow of the rock outcrop, fiery swirls dancing behind the surface. His skin had a slight ashen greenish hue to it and the veins on his arms throbbed painfully, seeming like it was pulsating..

Like a heartbeat.

Zack spun around and ran towards the thousands of Wutai soldiers running towards him. He ripped out an enormous chunk of solid stone from the rock outcrop with ease, flinging it at the charging horde like a javelin. The trash can sized piece landed on several soldiers, pinning them fatally to the ground. He picked up speed, sticking his right arm out abruptly and casting a huge inferno funnel at the oncoming enemy, torching dozens in a matter of seconds.

Gunfire screamed in the desert, punctuated with roars of flames and the shrieking of the unfortunate. Cloud watched from behind the boulder speechless, as he watched what resembled the man he knew run into the thick of the enemy, quite literally ripping them to pieces. He was everywhere at once, his speed becoming nothing more than a rush of air and a bright splash of blood.

_"What did they do to you..."_

Bullets ripped incessantly into Zack's body, the wounds instantaneously healed by the bright green pure energy that coursed through his veins. He grabbed a nearby soldier's rifle snapping it in half before throwing its owner several meters away into another group of terrified soldiers. The soldiers were already beating a desperate retreat behind the great tanks that were beginning to advance. But Zack wasn't finished. And he wouldn't be finished until nothing moved in a 2 kilometer radius.

The sunrise was blood red.

Cloud scrambled over the large boulder, ignoring Tifa's screams for him to return, sprinting towards Zack. He had to stop him. Something was wrong. This wasn't Zack.

He was about to reach Zack when the latter spun around, bright green eyes narrowing at Cloud. His face was stained with the blood of his enemies, clothes in tatters from the innumerable bullets that pummeled his body. He raised his hand again, ready to tear the approaching figure into unrecognizable shreds.

"Zack!" Cloud screamed, running head first into the other man, grabbing him in a tight hug and burying his face into the taller man's chest. "Stop! Please... Stop..."

The raised arm lingered in the air hesitantly for several moments before lowering to his side. Cloud raised his head slightly to look into Zack's eyes that were beginning to fade back to their normal softness.

"C-Cloud?"

"FIRE!"

The shells left the end of 50 gun barrels directed at Zack's exposed back, instantaneously unfurling into a shimmering gold flower. And in the center of the tens of steel petals was a silver needle, heading straight for its target.

Dozens of darts thudded into Zack's back, sending white pain washing across his body. His heart instantly screeched to a sickening halt before restarting in some semblance of a normal pulse. Then he slumped into Cloud's arms, passing out completely.

Tseng watched from the cliff face on which the Turks were poised, guns still smoking. He frowned slightly at how messy it had all become before turning to Reno.

"Take the three of them back to Edge City now."

--

They removed the last of the shimmering gold darts from Zack's back before flipping him onto his back, exiting the room with Cloud's furious glares. His attention was quickly back onto Zack who was now asleep on his bed back at the bar. His skin had returned to its normal tan, and was surprisingly flawless with the exception of that one scar across his torso. The scar itself was still pulsing slightly, looking a lot like it had just been carved into him hours ago.

Cloud grasped Zack's hand tightly,everything yet nothing running through his mind. He didn't understand any of this.

"Zack will be fine."

Tseng walked briskly into the room, standing himself next to Cloud, looking down at the man he had not seen for 5 years. He wanted to be around when Zack awoke. Mostly to apologize. For being the one responsible for seeking him out and cutting him down all those years ago. For making his life miserable. For killing him.

But this wasn't the time. And Cloud's question ridden eyes were beginning to bore holes on the side of his head.

"We've been investigating Hojo." the turk started. "He's been conducting experiments outside of Shinra's authorization. One of them involved bringing Zack back from the brink of death. Then subjecting him to multiple mako infusions. His theory was 'you can't kill someone who is already dead'."

He waited for the blonde to turn his piercing gaze away from him and back to the unconscious ex-SOLDIER before taking a deep breath. This was going to take a while.

"Wutai soldiers raided Hojo's lab several months ago, taking some of his research back to their own labs which was recently founded by Wutai chief of sciences. One of the research items they brought back was a body kept alive in a mako tank. Zack."

"Then what about this-" Cloud cut in, eyes falling dejectedly on the large scar. He had a feeling he wouldn't like this story very much.

"I'm getting to it." Tseng interjected. "The head surgeon in the Wutai labs performed a highly dangerous procedure on Zack. He implanted an untreated block of pure mako into Zack's heart."

Cloud's eyes widened. There was mako energy under there?

"When Zack's heart rate increases to a specific heightened state, the mako would diffuse into his blood stream, pumped throughout his entire body by his own heart, increasing his strength, giving bursts of uncontrollable rage, a magic capacity far surpassing the limits of any human.

"Hojo wanted to bring Zack back to his labs once he had heard about this development. He hired one of our former members to convince the Wutai he was on their side, then wiping them out by their own creation, at the same time testing the capabilities of the experiment. Getting his revenge and his experiment back, in a way. We've already... Handled that situation."

Cloud had been exceptionally quiet throughout Tseng's explanation. Everything was falling into place now, but he didn't like the big picture it painted. "What now?" he asked, not taking his eyes of the raven haired man on his bed.

Tseng turned to leave, slipping his hand into his pocket as he stepped out the doorway. "On my records, Zack is dead. Best to keep it that way."

--

She placed a soft hand against his shoulder as she seated her herself next to him on the porch at the back of the bar. He nodded gently, acknowledging her arrival before turning back to the brilliant amber of the sun sinking steadily behind the jagged horizon of Edge City. The view every evening was breathtaking. The last vestiges of light played against the buildings, caressing the city as it retreated, bringing with it the warmth of the day, cooling the already cold of the steel further.

But Cloud's mind was miles away. Back in the desert. Back in the thick of the battle. Back in the sickening stench of blood, gunpowder and burnt flesh. Back standing in front of someone that looked so much like Zack but was nothing of the man he loved.

Loved? When did that happen?

He shut his eyes, futilely trying to shut out the images of Zack interlaced with scenes from that afternoon from his mind.

Tifa watched him intently, trying to pick at the thick ice around his inferno of complexities. He had not said anything since Tseng left. And even in the helicopter back to Edge, his eyes never left Zack, his hand never left his. Yet... She didn't feel anything. No surge of anger. No veiled jealousy. That Cloud looked like he felt anything at all felt... Enough.

She looked away from the blonde who was still lost in thought. "Still not psychic, Cloud," she thought aloud unknowingly.

"I know." he answered quietly. "I'm just... I don't know what to do, Tifa. I want to make this all stop for him. All this pain. All this agony. He doesn't deserve this... He's always protected me, now I cannot do anything to save him. I couldn't then. I cannot now. I am never strong enough. I'm still not strong enough. Losing him once was hell. Losing him again..."

He trailed off, the frustration in his voice permeating the air between them. His eyes were fixated on the last remaining edge of the sun, casting a kaleidoscope of colors through the tears welled up in his eyes. He didn't feel the tears falling silently down his face. Neither did he feel Tifa's fingers wipe them from his face. All he felt was failure. And failure's last name was Strife.

Tifa withdrew her hand, casting a look down into her lap. The ice around the man next to her was shattering, and the emotions in him were so much more than she could have imagined. Passion, strength, hurt, sadness, love... And all this for the man from his past. All she ever wanted was for him to break through the prison he had incarcerated himself in- feel again, smile again, laugh again... She had mere glimpses of his old self over the past days, a seeming breakthrough from his stoicism, though she knew it wasn't from any of her efforts. Yet, this felt... Okay.

And she was about to take that all away from him again.

Muttering an excuse, she left Cloud and his thoughts on the porch, ascending the stairs to her room. She unfolded the scrap of paper she had unfolded and refolded so many times before. Her fingers fumbled with the numbers on her cell phone in silent urgency. She had to call it off. She couldn't do this to Cloud. She couldn't do this to Zack. She couldn't do this to herself.

No one ever picked up.

TBC

REVIEW PLEASE!!


	10. Chapter 10

Author's Note:  
1,400 hits... Wow. If this were a movie, and I had to make you pay to watch it, this would be my highest grossing film ever! But it's not a film and it's totally free! Lucky you. :D

Thanks to those who have reviewed, you are my energy!! I'm serious. You guys give me motivation to finish this terribly long fic with agonizingly short chapters with horrible horrible cliff-hangers.

Thanks to those who have put this fic on alert. This is officially my most alert-ed fic ever. You guys make my day too. :)

Disclaimer:  
Once again, no I do not own them. But the plot is mine. Please don't rip it off, cause I will find out, hunt you down and... and... yeah.

Warning:  
This chapter is the reason why this fic is M. If you are sensitive to such material, please skip over it quickly through the gaps between your fingers over your eyes. YEAH! MORE LONG SENTENCES!

It's not total lemon. So don't get your hopes up. I might come back again later to fill in the bits missing. But not for now.

Chapter Ten: Heat

The city had already begun to cast its icy grip on the exposed skin of his arms before he snapped out of his thoughts. It was dark, several pinpoints of light speckling the vast city before him. His dinner, laid out on the ground next to him some time ago, had long since cooled. He wasn't hungry anyway.

He stood up, stretched, brought the plate of untouched food into the fridge, walked up the stairs, turned into his room, pulled up the chair, sat himself next to the man on his bed, and stared.

He stared at the battle-rough hands, the well sculpted abdomen, the long thick scar running up his body, the gentle rise and fall of his chest, the two silver tags around his neck...

He's still wearing those?

Cloud leaned forward, tracing the slightly worn silver bands he had soldered himself on his first week in Shinra boot camp. His breath tickled the raven haired man's chest, stirring him slowly from his sleep. And the first thing his eyes met was a pair a bright blue ones staring right back at him.

A smile slipped across his face, pushing himself upright as the blonde moved back into his seat. The throbbing from his scar had subsided a great deal, though his veins felt like they were still on fire. He sent a grin in the general direction of the worried frown on Cloud's face.

"How are ya?"

"I should be the one asking you that."

Zack's grin lop-sided, his hand reaching to the back of his head for a good "that's-a-good-point" scratch. Cloud's eyes followed him cautiously as he got up from the bed, wobbling his way to the window for fresh air. Fresh air felt good.

"Tifa mentioned a few days ago she wanted to go to the fish market in the early morning. But in your condition, I don't think you should be going out."

"A little scrap like that won't kill me..." Zack began, not taking his face away from the open window. "Speaking of which, you have to be more alert than that to protect your girlfriend, you know? If I had fallen asleep-"

"She's not my girlfriend." Cloud interrupted loudly. Then added softly, "And I already know..."

The ex-SOLDIER raised an eyebrow at the blonde who had shifted in his seat, eyes trained on the closed door opposite his open one, barely a fraction of his face visible to the taller man.

"I already know I'm not strong enough. I was never strong enough. I couldn't protect her in Nibelheim, and I still can't protect her now. I should have been. I could have prevented all this from the start." Cloud whispered, his words pushing the sharp pins in his heart deeper. "But I couldn't."

A pair of hands rested on his shoulders. "Cloud... It's not your fault... You don't have to-"

"I see it sometimes." Cloud started again. "I see our town. In her eyes. It's the only part of my past I have left."

The pair of hands tightened their grip slightly on his shoulders.

"I owe it to her, to our village, to protect her."

"You don't owe anyone anything. It's about time you stop living for your past, and start living for you, for the present. Tifa wants more than-"

"I didn't do all this for her."

The hands suddenly loosened their grip. Cloud's gaze dropped to his thick boots, feeling like the floor was falling from beneath them as the words that were always at the tip of his tongue slipped out and into the thin space between them.

"In Shinra, I wanted to be SOLDIER for you. As a private, I trained to the best I could for you. When you were gone, I fought countless enemies for you. I lived the past 5 years, living your share. And every one of those times, I have loved you."

The last words from his lips hung in the awkward silence that had engulfed the room. He had waited so long to say those words to Zack, played this scene over and over again in his mind with a million scenarios.

But nothing had prepared him for the nothingness that greeted him now.

He wished Zack would say something. Anything. Was he angry? Disgusted? Why didn't he say anything? The seconds dragged on agonizingly, and Cloud had enough of it. He hadn't waited years to reach a blank at the end of the page.

He spun around and onto his feet in a blur. "Zack, I need-"

His angry sentence was silenced with a pair of lips crushing against his, a pair of arms circling tightly around his waist, and the feel of the older man's warmth sending a bright crimson to his face. The kiss was searing, full of questions, yet overflowing with answers. And when it ended, left Cloud in a spinning mess of vacant wordlessness.

"I hope that's your answer." Zack said breathily, not letting go of Cloud's waist. Cloud's eyes locked with the taller man, and for once, felt like the words he was sending through them were getting through. He leaned forward again, pressing another kiss against Zack's lips.

The kiss was nowhere near as forceful as Zack's, but burned with quickly unchained passion as he pushed against the ex-SOLDIER, lowering them slowly onto the bed behind them. His boots fell to the floor quickly as he hoisted himself onto the raven-haired man, hands roaming freely on his bare, scarred chest. Zack's hands in turn fumbled downwards towards the thick buckled belt.

Increasingly urgent kisses melted on heated skin, scintillating soft groans from the blonde on top of him.

On top? That's not right.

The ex-SOLDIER gave him a sneaky grin, flipping them both around, pinning Cloud to the bed.

Much better he thought, lowering his head to the stunned younger man below him. The younger man writhed under his touch, passion melting into thick desire. Soft moans escaped his lips, filling the hushed night air with illicit sounds.

Zack's lips trailed a fiery path down Cloud's chest as the blonde wriggled a slim hand down the tanned body and into loosely fitted pants. Zack drew a sharp breath as a warmth enveloped him. His heart pounded dangerously close to explosion as fingers slid cautiously across sensitive skin. He labored for breath, feeling the familiar burning begin to seep into his veins, pounding its way through his body. His vision blurred, bright green slipping into place...

"Zack. Look at me."

A gentle hand fell on his cheek, soft whispered words imploring him to come back. The brightness faded from his eyes, the fire in his blood dissipating into calm once again. His eyes refocused on the worried frown on Cloud's brow.

"Come back to me." he whispered as the slow smile returned to Zack's face. The raven haired man mumbled something into the younger man's ear, returning to nuzzling his neck.

"Now... Where was I..."

Zack smiled as he watched his boyfriend fall asleep on his shoulder, burying his face into the crook of his neck. The rain had begun to fall quietly outside, sending its refreshing scent seeping into the room, pervading the thick air. Slight goosebumps began springing up on Cloud's exposed back, prompting Zack to pull him closer, and the sheets around them.

Mine. That was a nice thought.

He kept the thought and stored it safely in a corner of his mind. The arm he had extended around the smaller frame reached up to stroke soft blonde hair. Cloud murmured an exhausted objection to any resemblance to chocobos, then giving himself to the first peaceful sleep in a long time.

I can live with this... Zack thought, tracing the contours of Cloud's back. His new lover's form seemed to be the last fitting piece in the gaping hole in his mind, making him wonder how he ever got by without being so complete.

"Zack?"

A soft voice from the doorway tore his attention away from the soft skin below his fingertips. Tifa stood in the doorway, her back towards the room. She seemed to be made from the darkness that surrounded her, her head bowed down, hands fiddling with the corner of her shirt.

"Zack, I need to talk to you. Could you meet me in the bar?"

She left after a chirp but whispered agreement. The tanned man gently extracted himself from the bed and the warmth of the man next to him, slipping the extra pillow into the gap in Cloud's arms. The blonde took quickly to the soft pillow that smelled so much like the older man, cuddling it sluggishly, nibbling at the edge.

Pulling on a shirt and pair of pants, Zack let out a quiet chuckle. "That looks utterly silly. Thank Gaia I don't do that."

Tifa was already in the bar, two stiff drinks set on the table, a chair drawn out for the man who entered and sat himself across from the brunette. He muffled his apprehension with a good dose of grins, tossing back one of the shots of burning alcohol with a muttered thanks. She didn't look up from the table she was staring at with a fierce intensity.

"Zack..." she began hesitantly, searching for the words. "I'm sorry."

Green eyes flicked from the shot glass to the stuttering girl in front of him. He set the glass down on the table, letting out a soft sigh. He was never too good at breaking hearts. He reached across the table for her icy cold hands, enveloping them in his larger warm ones.

"Tifa... I should be the one apologizing. Believe me, I didn't expect this to happen between Cloud and I. It... It just did. And I know how much you-"

Her eyes shot up to look him directly in the eye, hot tears already marring her vision. She wrenched her hands away from his. His very presence made her feel condemned. His gaze was burning a hole in her. His touch sapped what little energy she had left.

"You're going to die, Zack." She hated the words coming out from her.

Zack blinked. "The wound wasn't that bad, really. I'm al-"

"I called someone. I wasn't thinking I tried to stop it but..."

Zack withdrew his hands slowly, realization dawning upon him painfully. His gaze faltered, wandering towards the stairs.

"When is the hit."

"In an hour."

He got up silently and walked briskly out of the bar, into the rain soaked streets. He couldn't bring this back to Cloud. He wouldn't let him be in harm's way. He had to get as far from him as possible.

Zack started running, his heart withering with every step.

The first rays of the Tuesday sun glinted off the polished gun barrel. A gloved hand ran down the side of the weapon, setting it gently on the prepared position. A single target. A single shot. He wasn't going to drag this any longer than he needed to.

He hated shooting at people he knew. Tseng once told him it was like talking to the cow before eating its steak.

His phone rang again, but he didn't bother looking, instead snapping the battery out from the casing. He should have never gotten a phone.

Vincent crouched behind the jagged tops of the rebuilt Shinra monument. All roads led here, would bring his target here.

Ten more minutes.

He loaded a single bullet in the rifle's chamber and cocked the gun quietly with a steady thumb.

Eight more minutes.

The necessity of this far outweighed any personal emotions he had. He knew what his friend had become. He knew that a cure was equivalent to a lifetime in a laboratory. He knew that if he didn't do something, this... Monster... Would destroy everything it held dear. He almost half wished Zack wouldn't appear.

Three more minutes.

His eyes scanned the empty square. His target was approaching.

TBC

Please review! Next chapter is the second last.  
thanks to everyone who has read this! (By the time I finished writing this chapter a couple of hours later, hits had jumped to 1600!)


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note:

Well, here we are. The second last chapter. It has been a good week. And a good return to the writing world. Thanks to everyone who have reviewed. Love you guys!

My soundtrack while writing this fic was a Chinese song entitled 死了都要愛 which literally translates to "Wanting Love Even After Death". It's a whole lot more poetic in Chinese.

Yep. So enjoy! The really short but second last chapter.

Disclaimer:

Don't own the characters. I'll miss writing about them though.

Chapter Eleven: And You Were Gone

Cloud's eyes opened groggily. The sun was almost up. Why was he still in bed? The tangy citrus scent wafted towards him from the form in his arms.

_Oh yeah. That's why._

He rolled over lazily, snuggling deeper into the warmth of the bed. It felt good. The dead weight of anxiety, constant alert, and expectations were shelved for the moment. Nothing else mattered. He felt the blood running through his veins, filling the once cold crevices of himself. Idyll was this warm bubble made with the rumpled sheets and discarded clothing on the ground.

"Good morning..." he began, turning towards the empty space in the sheets next to him.

"Zack?"

Tifa was already in the doorway, tears now flowing unbridled from her eyes begging for forgiveness.

--

Zack followed the road towards the city centre, his heavy combat boots making solid thumps on the slick pavement that echoed down the street. If anywhere, that would be where the hitman would wait for him first. And if he didn't show up, he would seek him out. He couldn't risk that.

His eyes caught the near imperceptible glint off a distant gun barrel.

_There you are._ Zack slowed his pace, continuing directly towards the centre of the square. _Let's end this._

_Twenty meters._

Vincent's gaze did not waver from his approaching target. He had been spotted. It made his job all the more difficult. But it had to be done. This was greater than Tifa's jealous rage. Greater than the friendship with the ex-SOLDIER he thought he had lost long ago.

_Fifteen meters._

Zack could see Vincent against the deep orange of the sunrise. So it was him who had come to collect him. And he had no intention of fighting it. The monster in him had to die. Almost killing Cloud several times the night before was something he would never let happen again.

Cloud ran into the city centre, sweat clinging to every inch of his skin. His eyes raced across the near empty square, quickly catching sight of Zack, walking steadily towards the center. He ran towards the dark haired man.

_Ten meters._

Vincent readied his gun, lowering his eye to the sights, making slight adjustments. He could not afford to miss. His fingers coaxed the small knobs on the gun to deadly precision. One shot. One kill.

Down 40 degrees.

Left fourteen degrees.

Counterclockwise thirty-five degrees.

Cloud's body collided forcefully with Zack.

A shot rang out in Edge City.

Cloud shakily looked up from Zack's chest. The ex-SOLDIER smiled at him, placing a light touch on the other's rain battered face. Bright blue eyes followed Zack's gaze, to the small hole in the front of his shirt where the bullet had passed right through him. It had lodged deep into the tags around his neck, directly in the middle of the concentric rings binding the blood stained projectile into the metal, stopping it short of killing Cloud.

"Lucky tags..." Zack mumbled softly against blonde hair.

Blood streamed out from the single hole in his chest, tinted with the bright green mako that had been shattered. Red bloomed across the front of his chest.

The ex-SOLDIER breathed deeply the soft scent of Cloud mixed with the rain. He whispered faintly into the soaked locks.

"Don't cry."

Zack fell forward into Cloud's arms, the wound refusing to close and bleeding refusing to relent with the absence of the life saving mako that was now ebbing away from his body. Cloud frantically pressed a hand against the wound, ignoring the fiery sting of pure mako burning his skin. The raven-haired man slumped heavily into warm arms, smiling against Cloud's chest. He felt safe here.The younger man's voice ran hoarse, sentences fusing into one another as he pleaded for the man in his arms to come back to him. But he wouldn't this time. His vice-like grip tightly held the limp body against his, trying to will some of his time into Zack.

It was all too late.

Cloud's screams were lost in the rain.

And he was gone again.

TBC


	12. Chapter 12

Author's Note:

Ahhh... Here we are, at the end of the road... It's been a good one. Thanks for all the encouragement! Really! I have decided to begin writing again, after the great response on this fic. So, thank you all! You're all wonderful!

My apologies for this coming out later than I normally post. The internet in my apartment has been de-evolving into a prehistoric lump of coal.

Disclaimer:

All character belong to whomever they belong to. AND I LOVE THOSE PEOPLE FOR BRINGING FINAL FANTASY TO THE WORLD!! You guys are the reason why I work in video games! OH YOU LOVELY PEOPLE!! :)

Chapter twelve: Letting Go

The wind picked up lightly, tossing his hair lightly into his face. It had been a long time since he had been here and for good reason. This wasn't exactly where he had always dreamt about being. He knelt by the grave, feeling the fresh wet grass through the material of his pants.

"I should have come sooner," he started, wishing the earth below him could hear his words and relay their forgiveness to him. Forgiveness for being helpless to stop everything from falling apart. Forgiveness for having to stand aside and watch people he loved die. Then again, he knew that it wasn't from the dead he needed forgiveness.

_"Zack!" Cloud screamed, crashing into the taller man, crushing his body against the other. The gunshot echoed deafeningly in his ears. He felt Zack's body arch violently against his, then a sharp pain on his own chest. _

His gloved hand rested momentarily on the headstone, leaving a pair of stained tags on the cold surface. He never managed to get the blood out. Precision cut letters stared out glumly from their surface. Strife, Cloud. Followed by a jumble of cold robotic numbers, their trail violently disrupted by the bullet buried it.

_A burning spike of pain erupted through Zack, feeling the bullet shatter the mako that had been surgically implanted to the side of his heart. The splintered fragments exploded into nothing more than harmless dust. He let out a silent scream as one of the larger shards lodged itself into his heart._

_Time and pulse slowed. _

_He glanced downwards to the warm thick blood laced with mako oozing out from where the bullet had ripped out his chest. A thin sliver of blood snaked down the front of Cloud's chest where the impact of the bullet, buried in the tags, lashed against him._

_"Lucky tags..."_

_Cloud felt the warm ragged breaths in his hair coming slower and further apart. His hands drew into tight fists on Zack's shirt, the cold of the rain beginning to take away all the warmth he had tried so hard to find._

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Yeah... Lucky tags..."

It was a silly thing to say when life was crawling out of you. But Zack was never a stickler for seriousness. Cloud fingered the tarnished band in his pocket. Attempting to remove the bands from the tags proved to be a futile task, one of them permanently fusing with the bullet. But he didn't really need so much protection now anyway.

_"Don't cry." _

_The world swam headily around Zack as he toppled forward. He was plunging into darkness before being caught by gentle, strong arms. He felt safe here. He struggled to keep his heavy eyes open to look just a little longer into those crystal blue eyes he thought he would spend the rest of his life looking into._

_Guess he was about to get his wish._

_The loud screams of sentences cluttered and spluttered faded slowly into the background. The warmth of the dozen Cure spells Cloud propelled into his chest fizzled into nothing, unable to do anything for the man. The sound of silence was so deafening. The cold of the darkness was so piercing._

Fingers traced the letters on the headstone. He used to ponder when his name would join the one engraved in the stone, welcoming the idea of returning to loving arms. Used to.

The here and now were much more important. There was no point in living in the past, for the past. Time held no significance but an enormous countdown to the last breath anyway.

_Seven minutes._

_The longest seven minutes of his life. Kneeling in the pouring rain, wishing it would wash away this excruciating pain, wishing it would heal everything, wishing it could take everything back._

_But it didn't._

_It was just rain._

_He pressed his face against the cooling forehead in his lap, words he had meant to say cracking through sobs he couldn't control._

"_Come back to me…" _

_His words fell on deafened ears._

_His desperate final kiss left silenced lips._

_He rocked back and forth, nursing the agony building in him lathed in the cruel dilution of Zack's blood in the rain. He didn't notice the hand on his shoulder till it had shoved him backwards, several feet away._

_He sat unmoving in shock on the muddied pavement for several moments before scrambling to his knees, trying to claw his way back. He just needed to be close. Even though Zack was now impossibly far._

_Tifa easily pushed the distraught blonde aside again, deftly dodging all his poorly aimed drunken blows. She violently kicked him square in the chest, spinning him across the street. Just enough time._

_Her fingers wrapped around the edge of a bright green shard just peeking out from Zack's chest, then in a quick fluid motion, ripped it out from the lifeless chest, flinging it to the side with a loud clatter._

_Next thing she knew, she was knocked from her position hovering over the ex-SOLDIER. Cloud glared at her, unrestrained fury scalding the light blue eyes. He tackled her to the ground, screaming for an explanation._

_She never answered, turning to face the dark-haired man on the ground next to her._

Cloud got to his feet. Enough. For now. Indulging in memories was never something he enjoyed doing, regardless of how often he seemed to do it. It was like a drug – implicitly bad for him, yet he could never resist. He needed it to feel. Something. Anything. But he didn't need to anymore.

"I'm living for me now," he said softly, backing away from the headstone.

A pair of arms wrapped around him from behind.

"Where does that leave me?"

Cloud smiled, turning around to flash the owner of the arms a look of faked irritation before walking back towards Fenrir parked under the tree.

"My mom wouldn't like you doing that in front of her," Cloud said, casting one last look at the Strife family headstone.

Yes. Enough.

Zack's laugh danced carelessly in the air, jogging over to catch up with the blonde to ruffle his hair. "I don't think she wouldn't approve of me," he winked, slipping his hand down and around a slender waist.

"You shouldn't be running," Cloud stated. "Tifa isn't here to close your stitches again."

Zack rubbed his head, glancing down at the thick layer of bandages swathed around his chest. 'Taking it easy' was something a concept he couldn't quite understand. He shrugged, deciding he would probably never understand the concept of human mortality the mako in his blood had once exempted him from, disappearing into the distance from the Nibelheim ruins, knowing it didn't really matter right now anyway.

The End.

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